I've sat in the meetings—I'm sure you have, too—where you look at campaigns, and notice that, wow, a few made a lot of money, and a lot didn't. Someone from way up the executive ladder wants you to "do more of those" that made a lot of money.

You cringe, because they don't get it; and generally, you know "doing more" is going to drive unsubscribes, plummet your lifecycle program, and otherwise be a disaster.

Don't despair.

Remind them that if a consumer were to scan her inbox of retail, corporate emails right now, each one would have a subject line that is an offer. Everybody wants the consumer's money, but nobody addresses the consumer's relationship to their company, though they can.

Long-term, lifecycle emails train a customer into becoming a better one, and they enhance the relationship between customer and company.

But when you sit in those revenue meetings, it's hard to sell to the finance group that lifecycle emails work. And now, with trends going toward social networks and word-of-mouth networking, how do lifecycle emails compete?

Here are three techniques I've used effectively to fight the good fight:

First: Look at the long-term revenue, not the immediate email revenue.

Chart it out over a forecast period of time. Lifecycle emails work effortlessly as timed, daily emails, to earn money with low overhead. The setup cost alone will work itself out in a few months, I've usually found. On the other hand, promotional, salesy emails need new creative and new overhead each iteration. And remember to mention unmentionables—like opt-outs.

Make sure that people know, those folks cannot be re-messaged, that they are lost, at least until they enter a service message flow. Make the point that relevance, timeliness, and personalization are the proven elements of higher metrics and effective marketing.

Second: Mention the experts.

I've sat through two SEO presentations that mention a Yahoo survey according to which it takes 6-10 clicks until a consumer clicks to purchase. Provide those clicks in email, generate hype, provide options, and be a go-to place for consumer interest and information. Work not just on the long-tail, but the large bulk of your list that is interested in the product but is not at the point of sale—yet.

You can get low-hanging fruit with the hard-sell emails, but what about the fruit just beyond reach?

Most of us know from our own purchasing behavior that the path to purchase isn't a direct "I want a coat, click, I bought one." Rather, it's a series of "Who sells coats? Is there a coat expert out there? If I wanted a red coat, how much would that be?"

Do your sales emails provide that kind of information? Is it a turnoff to those not quite at the point of sale?

JC Penney has a great Window Treatment flash application that lets you model various window treatments on a blank slate. Could you orient an email program around such waffling customers? You bet.

Third: Look at email programs you already have that address relevant, timely, and personalized situations—namely, order-flow transactional emails.

If you look at the metrics on these emails—a failed order, perhaps, or a welcome message —the timeliness, personalization, and relevance argument will sink in. Take that magic triad of timeliness, relevance, and targeting to the level of your large, bulk promotional emails.

Think of the segments of your customers and their varying stages. Have they browsed products, but not purchased? Perhaps an educational, low-on-promotion email may get them closer to trusting you when they come to buy, influencing behavior leading up to the purchase point, if they're not already at that point.

Perhaps a community-oriented, value-rich, "Get out and use our widget," (and of course, stay subscribed) email may cement the growing relationship between you and them.

Lifecycles & Promotional Side by Side

I don't advocate a purely relationship portfolio, of course. There are segments that are close to buying, and for them a direct "use this offer" email is very effective.

One problem, though, with an aggressive, direct, and salesy email is unsubscribes. Consumers are wary of hard-sells, and for every impulse purchase you get you may be dismissing a long-term relationship of high value.

How do you balance these factors?

• Segment your customer base, and test messaging.
• Create a few creatives that vary the salesiness.
• Create automatic trigger messages based on the segment logic: "3 months in no purchase" get an educational with a half of a promotion. "6 months in since last purchase" gets an email that focuses on the long-term value of your product, and ongoing seasonal promotions.

The flexibility of email programs means that you can individually address stages in your prospect's or customer's experiences, reducing the blanket, broadcast sales techniques of old-school marketers.

By doing so, you will also be guiding customer behavior toward a rich, long-term relationship that lasts beyond the next sale.